The Characteristics And Consequences Of The Break-up Of The Fengyun-1C Spacecraft
- Paper number
IAC-07-A6.3.01
- Author
Mr. Nicholas L. Johnson, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Eugene Stansbery, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States
- Coauthor
Dr. J.-C. Liou, ESCG/ERC, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Christopher Stokely, Barrios Technology, Inc., United States
- Coauthor
Mr. David Whitlock, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States
- Year
2007
- Abstract
The intentional break-up of the Fengyun-1C spacecraft on 11 January 2007 via hypervelocity collision with a ballistic object created the most severe artificial debris cloud in Earth orbit since the beginning of space exploration. More than 900 debris on the order of 10 cm or greater in size have been identified by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network (SSN). The majority of these debris reside in long-lived orbits. The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has conducted a thorough examination of the nature of the Fengyun-1C debris cloud, using SSN data for larger debris and special Haystack radar observations for smaller debris. These data have been compared with the NASA standard satellite break-up model for collisions, and the results are presented in this paper. The orbital longevity of the debris have also been evaluated for both small and large debris. The consequent long-term spatial density effects on the low Earth orbit (LEO) regime are then described. Finally, collision probabilities between the Fengyun-1C debris cloud and the resident space object population of 1 January 2007 have been calculated. The potential effect on the growth of the near-Earth satellite population is presented.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-07-A6.3.01.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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